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University Daily Kansan Friday. November 20,1959
Acoustical Atrocity Alarming
By Ray Miller
As ridiculous as it may seem, students have complained that the KU whistle is not loud enough.
At least this was true on March 23,1936.From the Daily Kansan files we read;
"Eight O'clock Whistle Was Church Bell in 1914—If the students were questioned as to the purpose of the 8 o'clock whistle they would undoubtedly say that it was a warning whistle to let students know that classes start in a half hour. So also is the 8.20 whistle a warning that classes start in 10 minutes. But what is the purpose of the two warning whistles when they can be heard by only those students living within a few blocks of the campus?"
Not a Call to Class
The article explained that the whistle was no warning whistle at all, but marked the beginning and end of devotional services.
Intrigued by the tribulations of those students of long ago, we scrawled through the little envelope marked "Whistle" and found that from the start the bronze monster was a headache.
March 25, 1912; "The Toot Manifesto is Effective Today—After many vicissitudes and tribulations, orders were given today by Edward E. Brown, secretary of the university, for the 'tooty-toots' to begin regular duty."
but claims that the "tooties" didn't start "tooting" on schedule. "At 8:50, however, when the first whistle was scheduled to blow, there was not even a whisper from the direction of the power plant."
There Was No Explanation Officials were unable to determine why the whistle failed, the article reported.
There Was No Explanation
After a few days trial period we read:
April 17, 1912 "New Class Period Saves Time for All—The Whistle and 50-Minute Hour Brought Order to Class Room—the superiority of the new system is greater than it was expected to be. A number of instructors were opposed to the change before it was tried... Now these instructors are thankful that the old system was discarded, as the bad features of the whistle failed to appear."
Living must have been a lot easier those days or else they knew of some type of tranquilizer formula which was lost during the years.
Attempts to replace the cussed and discussed whistle were thwarted. The Kansas files indicate that the whistle's reputation grew accordingly.
July 30, 1946: "It Doesn't Apply to Some Professors, But—People Nine Miles Away Hear KU Whistle"
Feb. 18, 1948: In Spite of Everything, The Whistle Blows On—Twice the whistle has been replaced and twice it has made a comeback. A few years after its installation atop the boiler building of the University heating plant in 1912, it blew off.
"Another whistle was used for a few months, but the plant engineers couldn't stand this screeching monstrosity, so they welded the old one and put it back in place. It can be heard as far as Lone Star Lake, nearly 16 miles away."
Evidently blowing its top did it some good. From a nine mile range in 1946 to a 16 mile range in 1948 is a sizable increase of whistle power.
The second whistle referred to was a German steamboat whistle which was donated to the University in
Story-Teller Tells A Success Story
"I tell you a story," the American writer said finally.
LONDON —(UFI) — British reporters questioning John O'Hara at an impromptu conference here were mostly interested in how he, a former newspaperman, had managed to become a wealthy novelist.
"There was a man playing in the gutter outside a night club. A jazz musician came to the door of the club for some air. The street musician asked him, 'How do I get to Carnegie Hall?'
"And the hep guy replied, 'Practice, man; practice.'"
May, 1945, by Robert A. Haggard, a former student;
From a German Shin
From a German Ship
Mr. Heygard salvaged the whistle from a ship that was kept inert ship which had been scuttled in Leghorn, Italy. Unfortunately the whistle was not loud enough so it was replaced by the original one.
"Old Faithful," as the whistle had become to be known, saw service until March 25, 1954. It seems the old timer couldn't stand the strain and blew its "brains" out. (The technical term applied was a "racked seam.")
It was replaced by the one now in service.
Eldon Ulrich, power plant foreman, assured us that the whistle is one of the finest to be found in the land.
"It is a 2-barrel whistle with each of the barrels a little shorter than the other. This is supposed to make it harmonize. I guess that on a cold, clear day it can be heard nine to twelve miles away," he said.
The little monster, 28 inches in length by 10 inches in diameter, squats on its perch, its ugly little throat throttled by an electrically controlled baffle.
And promptly every 60 minutes it unleashes its nerve shattering scream in the fine tradition of its predecessor. If only those faculty members had put their foot down back in 1912 . . .
DAMN THAT WHISTLE—A KU coed is startled out of her daydreams by the power-plant whistle as she heads for class.
Gargoyles Are Needed
WASHINGTON —(UPI)— If you have a talent for gargoyles, the washington Cathedral would like to hear from you.
The long, abuilding Episcopal church needs models of about 30 or so fanciful gargoyles, chimaeras, trefoilers or what-have-you for the outer system aton the gothic structure. And Leon Francis B. Sayre Jr. invites imaginative sculptors to create them.
Dean Savre carefully noted that the gargevole project is not a contest and no prizes are to be offered. The only satisfaction, should your model be picked, would be that your work would be carved into the stone fabric of the cathedral "to remain there through the ages."
Gargoyles are ornamental water spouts that throw water from the roof gutters high up on the cathedral walls. In medieval days they were out on cathedrals to represent evil spirits and to remind passbyss of the threats of the Devil and the safety of the church.
Dean Sayre noted that today's "demons"—anxieties, psychoses and corrupting ideologies—"offer endless opportunities for creative fancifulness in carving."
Photographs of any work to be submitted should be sent to the Clerk of the Works, Washington Cathedral, Washington 16, D.C.
Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquillity.—James Thurber
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